Dual Core Gaming Fix Guide

WCIII is my only sticking point with all the fixes. I had to use that Xp launcher thingy... and although the benny hill goes away, it's now lagging because I guess the one core can't do it right... lags now rather than the wierd benny hill thing, different, but same end result for me. Going to try setting my ram to cas 2 (from 2.5) and muck about with other settings to see if that does anything.

I mean, I play WCIII more than anything else. With my Preshott I could run ShrinkDVD and play WCIII fine. Now I double my cpu's and I can't. So much for that $440 upgrade...
 
When you set the affinity for WC3, what core do you put it to? I put it on core 0 and I never have any problems with it. Hope that helps.
 
Here's the dealio,
I can set it to core 0, but only with Xp launcher thingy, as I cannot change affinity once it's started. No big deal here I suppose.

However, when I want to do another intensive task, such as DVDShrink -- forget it. Now with DVDShrink I can move the affinity left right, and center... don't matter. I put that on another or both cores, slow down (not Benny hill).

Point being my main game is WCIII, and half the time DVDShrink running something or another. Now with my 3.2E hyperthreading it was FINE. Says me, "I should get dual core, and AMD is meant for games, and that opteron 170 is going for $356 right now, yes!"

Plunk down for a new MB and the opty, and now I'm thinking of going back to my IC-7 and 3.2E. Sucks. Yes I have the hotfix. I'm going to try running stock speed and mess about with bios, wish me luck.
 
toddw said:
Here's the dealio,
I can set it to core 0, but only with Xp launcher thingy, as I cannot change affinity once it's started. No big deal here I suppose.

However, when I want to do another intensive task, such as DVDShrink -- forget it. Now with DVDShrink I can move the affinity left right, and center... don't matter. I put that on another or both cores, slow down (not Benny hill).

Point being my main game is WCIII, and half the time DVDShrink running something or another. Now with my 3.2E hyperthreading it was FINE. Says me, "I should get dual core, and AMD is meant for games, and that opteron 170 is going for $356 right now, yes!"

Plunk down for a new MB and the opty, and now I'm thinking of going back to my IC-7 and 3.2E. Sucks. Yes I have the hotfix. I'm going to try running stock speed and mess about with bios, wish me luck.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it sounds more like a Windows XP issue than a purely gaming one :(. Just out of curiosity is your DVD Shrink set up to run high priority? I believe it's a setting in DVD Shrink.
 
gotfrag? said:
ok well this is what it made automatically
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn /usepmtimer

but then i changed it to look like how you did it

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn /bootlogo /usepmtimer
Click to expand...


The /bootlogo switch is only to allow you to replace the default windows boot logo screen graphic with a custom graphic.


Here is a list of boot.ini switches:

http://www.sysinternals.com/Information/bootini.html

BTW: I used imagecfg to correct a bsod problem when running creatives DVD-Audio program.


Also, has anyone here tried the following to see if it fixes any issues:

/INTAFFINITY
Directs the standard x86 multiprocessor HAL (Halmps.dll) to set interrupt affinities such that only the highest numbered processor will receive interrupts. Without the switch, the HAL defaults to its normal behavior of letting all processors receive interrupts.
Click to expand...
 
BBA said:
The /bootlogo switch is only to allow you to replace the default windows boot logo screen graphic with a custom graphic.


Here is a list of boot.ini switches:

http://www.sysinternals.com/Information/bootini.html

BTW: I used imagecfg to correct a bsod problem when running creatives DVD-Audio program.


Also, has anyone here tried the following to see if it fixes any issues:
Click to expand...

I'll look into the /intaffinity, but probably not late next week (vacation :) ).
 
I know this is a little OT but since the link I posted was relevant, just keep in mind the sysinternals site leaves out a lot of descriptions on the switches they list.

For example:
/PAE
Causes Ntldr to load Ntkrnlpa.exe, which is the version of the x86 kernel that is able to take advantage of x86 PAEs. The PAE version of the kernel presents 64-bit physical addresses to device drivers, so this switch is helpful for testing device driver support for large memory systems.
Click to expand...

They fail to mention that this switch actually enables accessing memory above the 32 bit 4 GB limit by loading a kernal that changes memory access by adding a 2 bit Page Directory Pointer Entry (accomplished by reducing the Page Directory Index and Page Table Index to 9 bits from 10 bits, allowing two bits to be used for PDPE.) Of course, not many peeps here will have >4GB, for a good reason too: XP does not even support over 4GB at all. BUT: In the world of servers running 32 bit OS, you need this switch to use anything over 4GB (and you also have to have an enterprise/datacenter version of server installed as well)
 
so wats hte story now?

its a hit or miss if u will have problems or not?

newest graphics drivers dind't take care of it?

im just curious because i dont wanna have all these problems when ig et my opteron 165.

is it safe to just install both the hotfix and amd driver at the same time when i first build the pc??
 
I have XP 64 and I have a problem where when playing a game it will just freeze for about 10 seconds and then start up again. Doesnt matter which game I play it happens in all of them. The AMD driver didn't fix anything and I lost 6000 points in 3dmark05 so I unistalled it. There is no hotfix for XP 64. Im not sujre what the problem is.

I loaded windows with the boot switch /onecpu and still had the same problem so im guessing it is in the design of the chip some how but im no expert so i probably dont know what im talking about. I really hope that there is going to be a sure fire fix for this problem soon cause it is pissing me off.
 
haha, what is this so called benny hill effect?

ok, I read about benny hill a bit, and I guess it mean things are super sped up, I suppose?
 
Well it sounds like my problem is a little different from the ones the people here have been describing. I would be so happy if my problem is not the one that everyone here has. However I highly doubt it, unless someone with more knowledge comes and sheds some light on my problem.

Edit: I was wondering if I should try and go back to XP Sp2. Maybe that might help with some of my problems. Seeing as there are no fixes for XP 64.

Edit: Well I figured out that my pausing problem is not the one you guys are talking about. I just started getting that one today. YES!!! Well still have my problem and now the new benny hill I ahve been hearing so much about. My system is giving me so much joy I can hardly stand it.
 
kirbyrj said:
So Windows shows you two separate cpu's under the task manager? That's interesting. Everytime I try it, it only shows me one unless I repair install.
Click to expand...

You did try clicking on view -> cpu history -> "One Graph per CPU" on the Task Manager, right?
 
Hi guys, thanks for superbly documenting your X2 experiences. I've experienced gaming issues too and addressed them with the page one recommendations. Windows Media Center Edition 2005 (based on xp pro sp2 w/ mce rollup) acted rather stupid on an unmodified X2 installation. You could watch TV for about 30 mins until it would start stuttering. I installed the hotfix (even though it's not a specified OS) with no effect. I had to use the imagecfg to set affinity for the mce processes. This can be done only by ending them first, or imagecfg will give you an error.

But to complicate things, i've read over at amdzone that the recent quake 4 1.05 beta patch that enables smp will actually cause a decrease in performance on dual core processors. The cause seemed to be the nVidia drivers 81.94 and up. These drivers enable some dual core support. This function of the drivers (according to amdzone) needs to be disabled in order to realize the performance increase Q4 patch 1.05 beta provides. FiringSquad's inquiry into this patch was done on Radeon cards, and showed an increase in performace without issue. This leads me to believe they're may be an issue w/ nVidia drivers (or the patch).

So, I'd like to say WTF. We have vendor patches, game patches, O/S patches, workarounds, etc. To be honest, I love being an early adopter, but really wish I'd bought a 4000+ instead of the dual core.

Another note: I'm also running windows x64 edition and from what I've read it manages ACPI better than 32bit xp (less OS related compatability issues with X2). The x64 platform has matured since its release. I believe they need to get going with XP sp3 but are purposefully delaying its release to bolster the introduction of Vista which promises to incorporate the best of x64 and dual core capabilities.

I don't want to wait that long :mad:
 
Hey superfire,

I've got an X2 Windows MCE 2005 setup and I can't say that I've noticed any stuttering. I'm using a Happauge Win-TV PVR USB 2 tuner, and the only thing that I've installed was AMD's processor driver.

One thing that I have noticed is something odd with the USB IR receiver/blaster. For some reason, when its plugged in, my 3D game performace drops.

When I run 3dMark05, I get around 12500 with it plugged in, 13100 when it's not. Also, the F.E.A.R. performance test gives me an average of around 50fps when is plugged in, and 60fps without. Running F.E.A.R. at 1600x1200 4aa/16af in game, maximum settings, no soft shadows.

Just passing on something I've noticed.

_____________________________________________________________
Windows Media Center 2005
Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe Motherboard
Athlon 64 X2 4800+
2GB Corsair 3500LL Pro Memmory
2x BFG 7800 GTX 512 OC in SLI
3x Maxtor DiamondMax10 300GB HDD in RAID-0
2x hp dvd740 DVD Writer optical drive | 1x Mitsumi FA404M 7-in-1 USB 2.0 card reader and floppy drive
Antec P180 case
Enermax EG851AX-VH 660W Power Supply
Samsung SyncMaster 213T 21" 1600x1200 LCD Monitor
 
I just got my Opty 170 system up and running, and am a HUGE BF2, CoD2 gamer. II apples fix #1,2 & 4. I'm wondering, is it ABSOLUTELY necessary to set the affinity when playing games? I noticed tonight, whether I unchecked core 0 or core 1, I REALLY got lag in BF2. If I let both run, the stutters were gone. However this was BEFORE I did the Windows SP2 hotfix . . .

Any advice appreciated.
 
heatlesssun said:
Hey superfire,

I've got an X2 Windows MCE 2005 setup and I can't say that I've noticed any stuttering. I'm using a Happauge Win-TV PVR USB 2 tuner, and the only thing that I've installed was AMD's processor driver.

One thing that I have noticed is something odd with the USB IR receiver/blaster. For some reason, when its plugged in, my 3D game performace drops.

When I run 3dMark05, I get around 12500 with it plugged in, 13100 when it's not. Also, the F.E.A.R. performance test gives me an average of around 50fps when is plugged in, and 60fps without. Running F.E.A.R. at 1600x1200 4aa/16af in game, maximum settings, no soft shadows.
Click to expand...

I've got the happauge pci pvr-500 mce card. While doing research to solve this problem it seemed to be across multiple platforms with the exception of dual core processors. I read about the imagecfg fix and tried it. At the same time there was a critical update available (sometime last week) so I can't be sure what fixed it, the update or using imagecfg. All is well now. As for usb devices and gaming, many devices that are USB are not a full hardware solution and will steal clock cycles and/or memory to operate. I didn't realize the mce remote would be such a hog. I've seen usb wifi and ethernet adapters do the same thing when attached. Your machine seems about as robust as they come, perhaps you should check your system resources when idle with the ir receiver attached. Sandra Memory scores will also show adverse effects when certain usb devices are attached, something to play with. Also, have you tried unplugging the tv tuner and leaving the ir receiver attached? Same thing or no?
 
jnick said:
I just got my Opty 170 system up and running, and am a HUGE BF2, CoD2 gamer. II apples fix #1,2 & 4. I'm wondering, is it ABSOLUTELY necessary to set the affinity when playing games? I noticed tonight, whether I unchecked core 0 or core 1, I REALLY got lag in BF2. If I let both run, the stutters were gone. However this was BEFORE I did the Windows SP2 hotfix . . .

Any advice appreciated.
Click to expand...

Before the CoDII dual core patch, it ran properly by just using winlauncher xp and setting affinity to the second core. Without setting affinity, the game seemed to run normally, but sequences such as enemy troop movments in single player were accelerated (odd, I know). Also, my health would not recover, i would constantly be wounded and no auto saves. I could not even make it through training, throwing the potatoes at the three targets would never trigger the conclusion of the segment and I could not move forward (had to download some saved games). As for BF2, I did not experience any annomolies. Serious sam II (prepatch) would suffer from serious audio studder, until I used winlaucher to set affinity to one core, then it ran fine.
 
heatlesssun said:
Hey superfire,

I've got an X2 Windows MCE 2005 setup and I can't say that I've noticed any stuttering. I'm using a Happauge Win-TV PVR USB 2 tuner, and the only thing that I've installed was AMD's processor driver.
Click to expand...

BTW, I might have neglected to install the processor driver. I think imagecfg might have fixed it for me but perhaps it wouldn't have been broken if the driver was installed :rolleyes:
 
r00k said:
You did try clicking on view -> cpu history -> "One Graph per CPU" on the Task Manager, right?
Click to expand...

Yes...it was greyed out and didn't give me the option.
 
marley1 said:
so wats hte story now?

its a hit or miss if u will have problems or not?

newest graphics drivers dind't take care of it?

im just curious because i dont wanna have all these problems when ig et my opteron 165.

is it safe to just install both the hotfix and amd driver at the same time when i first build the pc??
Click to expand...

It's more about what programs/games you are running. In the 2nd post I tried to come up with a partial list of games that are fixed by the different solutions. In most newer games, I haven't seen any problems. The exception to this is the new Quake 4 patch that conflicts with the 80 series Nvidia drivers. So I would say hit and miss depending on what you want to run.

After a fresh format/install, I would install the Hotfix first. I would test and see if you have problems and then install the driver (or the /usepmtimer switch) second. If that doesn't work, you can always set the affinity.
 
yup just built my computer, installing newest nforce and detonator drivers.

gonna then install the hotfix and bench :)
 
Here's my only real question in regards to dual core and gaming.

Is it NECESSARY to run the game on CPU 1? Is it ok to run the game on both cores If I'm not experiencing any stutter? What about if I want to play the game and run, say, DVDShrink at the same time? Then should I seperate the cores?

Thank you :).
 
jnick said:
Here's my only real question in regards to dual core and gaming.

Is it NECESSARY to run the game on CPU 1? Is it ok to run the game on both cores If I'm not experiencing any stutter? What about if I want to play the game and run, say, DVDShrink at the same time? Then should I seperate the cores?

Thank you :).
Click to expand...

I wouldn't worry about setting affinity if you're not having any problems with stuttering.

You might experience some game lag when using DVDShrink depending on how high you set the priority of DVDShrink. My DVDShrink uses both cores to encode, and I have the priority set to the highest, so I get some CPU lag in gaming. If you get lag, you can try separating the cores or lower the priority of DVD Shrink.
 
Well I just installed Daemon tools v3 x64 and I started getting stutters in my games. So I unistalled it and they are gone. This makes me mad because I use the app all the time but now I cant cause it fucks up my games.
 
Benmandude said:
Well I just installed Daemon tools v3 x64 and I started getting stutters in my games. So I unistalled it and they are gone. This makes me mad because I use the app all the time but now I cant cause it fucks up my games.
Click to expand...

Try setting the affinity for Daemon tools to work on one CPU or the other.
 
Benmandude said:
Well I just installed Daemon tools v3 x64 and I started getting stutters in my games. So I unistalled it and they are gone. This makes me mad because I use the app all the time but now I cant cause it fucks up my games.
Click to expand...

so get rid of that lame program, use alcohol 120%

does everything daemon tools does but better :)
 
Has anyone here tried playing any games in Linux yet with a dual core cpu? I know there's not as many games that work on linux, but I'm wondering if anyone has tried either getting games to work in linux or if they've had any problems with applications under any linux distro?
 
LordPhobos said:
Has anyone here tried playing any games in Linux yet with a dual core cpu? I know there's not as many games that work on linux, but I'm wondering if anyone has tried either getting games to work in linux or if they've had any problems with applications under any linux distro?
Click to expand...

Do you mean natively or Win games under Wine or whatever is used to emulate windows nowadays?
 
kirbyrj said:
Do you mean natively or Win games under Wine or whatever is used to emulate windows nowadays?
Click to expand...

Ideally I mean natively. Games like Quake 4 is one that comes to mind that I know has linux binaries but that would be a good test given that under Windows it has issues with dual cores. I would be interested though in seeing how they run under Wine if anyone has it, but I'm more-so interested in the overall idea of how well linux handles dual core cpus under different circumstances.
 
LordPhobos said:
Ideally I mean natively. Games like Quake 4 is one that comes to mind that I know has linux binaries but that would be a good test given that under Windows it has issues with dual cores. I would be interested though in seeing how they run under Wine if anyone has it, but I'm more-so interested in the overall idea of how well linux handles dual core cpus under different circumstances.
Click to expand...

From what I've seen, most of these problems are caused by Microsoft code :(...I would expect Linux to be able to handle the issues that create these problems rather easily ;).
 
kirbyrj said:
I wouldn't worry about setting affinity if you're not having any problems with stuttering.

You might experience some game lag when using DVDShrink depending on how high you set the priority of DVDShrink. My DVDShrink uses both cores to encode, and I have the priority set to the highest, so I get some CPU lag in gaming. If you get lag, you can try separating the cores or lower the priority of DVD Shrink.
Click to expand...

TY!

Happy New Year!
 
BF2 likes to lag out, no other game. They seriously needed to code that game better......but yea. I did fix #1 though.
 
Rhetoric said:
BF2 likes to lag out, no other game. They seriously needed to code that game better......but yea. I did fix #1 though.
Click to expand...

Will it lag out if you set the affinity to CPU 0?
 
Hey guys -

wat exaclty is the Benny Hill Efect.

Ive been playing CS:S for about 30 min and all seems normal to me.

I do have some ghosting but thats because im playin gon a shitty as 17inch 25ms respoinse lcd from work.
 
marley1 said:
Hey guys -

wat exaclty is the Benny Hill Efect.

Ive been playing CS:S for about 30 min and all seems normal to me.

I do have some ghosting but thats because im playin gon a shitty as 17inch 25ms respoinse lcd from work.
Click to expand...

If you had a problem with it, you'd see it right away ;). Try running the old CS or something based on HL1...you might see it there.

Basically what happens is the whole game plays so fast that it's unplayable (or so slow it's unplayable).
 
kirbyrj said:
If you had a problem with it, you'd see it right away ;). Try running the old CS or something based on HL1...you might see it there.

Basically what happens is the whole game plays so fast that it's unplayable (or so slow it's unplayable).
Click to expand...

so its a big thing your saying?

not just one little section speeds up and skips?

cause so far i played haven't done any of the amd driver or hotfix just installed have a few things installing in background and im playing it and everything seems normal for soure.

so far so good im loving this pc :)

now only if i could bring it home but my boss wants to see it ill test COD2 and stuff when i install it and other games.

still doing benches and stuff, but so far 7100 3dmark so it seems likea good system, everything stable and all :)
 
marley1 said:
so its a big thing your saying?

not just one little section speeds up and skips?

cause so far i played haven't done any of the amd driver or hotfix just installed have a few things installing in background and im playing it and everything seems normal for soure.

so far so good im loving this pc :)

now only if i could bring it home but my boss wants to see it ill test COD2 and stuff when i install it and other games.

still doing benches and stuff, but so far 7100 3dmark so it seems likea good system, everything stable and all :)
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's a big thing...completely unplayable if you had problems. Mostly a problem with older games. I haven't had a problem with newer games (say Doom3 or newer).
 
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